Chapter 12

It was just after ten when Bev shook me to wake me up. I was instantly alert but she held me down with an arm on my shoulder.

"It's OK. Just time to get up."

"I thought you'd want to sleep in later than this."

"I'm fine. We've got a picnic to go to. I already called Karen and told her we'd be late and she's fine with it."

"Bev, we should call the picnic off. I mean, it not that long since you were attacked."

"I'm not going to let Jimmy ruin my day or my life or anything else. Besides, I don't hurt anywhere, thanks to you. I've already told Karen about my eye so there's nothing to hide from anyone."

Once again, I learned that when a female has her mind made up about something, the most pro survival thing to do is go with the flow. You'd think I'd remember that. It's been proven to me so many times.

We did our bathroom stuff and were on the road by 11. The girls were both asleep by 11:15.

Shortly after two, we pulled into the rest stop. Karen and Alice were sitting in Karen's VW Beetle. I would never buy a bright yellow car like that but it seemed to fit Karen. Bev and Vicky seemed to like it, the way they oooed and ahhhed after hugging both Karen and Alice.

Alice came over to me and kissed me. There was a lot of potential in that kiss but I didn't want to take our relationship there. The woman was almost ten years older than me and had treated me more like a child than a friend or lover. I broke it off as smoothly as possible.

"So, are you ready to go on a picnic, Alice?"

"I've been looking forward to it."

"The girls fried a couple of fresh chickens and made some of my family's potato salad with homemade mayo."

"I didn't think anybody did that anymore."

"Oh, sure. It's just egg yolks, some olive oil, a little vinegar, a spice or two and throw it in the blender. Using fresh eggs makes the difference."

"You keep saying fresh. How do you know?"

"Alice, we raise our own chickens. I know the eggs are fresh because I had to move a chicken out of the way to get them and they were still warm. And Mom killed the chickens yesterday afternoon."

"You kill them yourself?"

"Sure, Alice. Where do you think that prime rib you served me comes from? The only difference is instead of taking it off a truck, we get it out in the back yard."

"You mean you kill it and cut it up?"

"We have. Most of the time we get someone to butcher it for part of the animal in trade. We have a guy living on the ranch right now who's pretty good at that."

Karen came up to us and said, "Excuse me," then proceeded to plant one on me. It was the usual Karen kiss and lasted until both of us were having trouble standing.

My girls and I used the facilities while Alice and Karen got some drinks for the road and then we took off, following Karen. She pulled off on a gravel road after a few miles, then stopped to open a cattle gate. Once we were through, Vicky jumped out and closed it.

We drove up a dirt road to the top of a hill, then pulled over. The place we stopped was beautiful. There was a view of the edge of the forest I'd spent so much time in if you looked to the east. Over to the south was a large plain with trees at the far end. There was a stream meandering through the open plain. All the spring flowers were in bloom and it was breathtaking.

I lay on the blanket with my head on Bev's lap. All four girls took turns feeding me. Alice had brought two kinds of olives, some pickles and cut up veggies with a creamy dip. Karen had crackers and four different kinds of cheese. And we had our chicken and potato salad.

Karen had gone out on a date Friday night and was pretty sure this guy was the one. She also said she'd given it some thought and decided that she wasn't into sharing.

Alice was still having a tough time with the idea that we raised and killed our own food. She served the stuff for a living but it bothered her that we got ours from our own property instead of a piece of Styrofoam covered in Saran Wrap. She did enjoy the chicken, though, after some initial hesitation.

It was a relaxing afternoon. I told some of the things I found out about Jimmy on our trek and Bev told some stories about him. Some of the stories she told made me realize the football team had done little, if anything, to corrupt him. It was like they were ready made for him.

All three of us were disappointed that we couldn't tell the girls about the punishments we'd put in place for him. But I wasn't about to let them know my secret, especially Alice. It would remain a secret until she started serving her next customer.

My interviews were a big hit, especially the accident Monica Belmont had when her tits fell free of her blouse. Alice found it hard to believe she was hated by her producer and camera man and insisted I was mistaken or there was something wrong with the two of them. I just told her to give me a call if she ever served her and tell me if she felt the same. Then I decided Monica was going to stop at the truck stop, eat at Alice's station, be a bitch and not tip anything. Cruel? Maybe a little. Cheating? Sure. But it probably wouldn't make a difference in her behavior. The key was getting her to actually stop and eat at a place I'm sure she would feel was beneath her.

I discovered that I didn't have a lot in common with these people. Karen was a girl I'd tricked into kissing me. We both enjoyed it and it was pleasing on the physical level but there was no real spark there. It was a relief when she said she wasn't into sharing. I had no doubt that Bev and Vicky would stay in touch; they'd been talking nonstop since we got here. I'd text her once in a while but that's about as much contact as I could see in the future.

Alice was a real problem. She was a nice lady and she did help me out when I got back to civilization. A lot of her help had been pushed on me, whether I wanted it or not. She sat there, giving me quarters to feed the pay phone when I could have called collect just as easy. It was nice to be able to change clothes and get clean before the family got there but I would have survived if I had to wait for them. Mom could have given the credit card number to the manager over the phone instead of waiting till she got there, too.

Alice was like the Aunt you only see on holidays who has to tell everyone some embarrassing thing you did when you were three, pretending to think you were cute but really making you look like an idiot so she'll get the spotlight. After Alice told how she had to get me a cup of coffee the third or fourth time, it got old. What was I supposed to do, just go over and take it? I ended up wishing she would find someone local that she could be happy with.

Vicky wanted to sit next to me on the way home. She was quiet for most of the trip, obviously struggling to get up the courage to say whatever it was she wanted to say. She finally did.